It Runs In The Family
by Lady Eleanor Boleyn
Summary: Bella, Meda and Cissy have just been caught in bed together. Cygnus and Druella have two very differing views on the matter.


_AN: Dedicated to Gamma Orionis, whose latest piece gave me the inspiration for this. Rated for themes, language and the occasional act of violence. _

**It Runs In The Family**

"It can't go on like this! The Girls…are…are Sapphos! If anyone finds out, we'll be ruined, Cygnus! Ruined!"

Cygnus Black glanced up at his wife, raising a sardonic eyebrow at her hysteria, "Calm down. It's not that bad, Ella."

"Not that bad! Not that bad!" Druella's voice rose to a shriek. "Your girls are, well…"

"Fucking one another, yes."

"…and you sit there and tell me it's not that bad! If anyone finds out, they'll be unmarriageable! Unmarriageable, Cygnus!"

"I'm not sure Bella would mind that too much," Cygnus commented, coolly turning the page of his newspaper. Unable to help herself, Druella walked over to him, ripped it out of his hand and slapped him across the face.

"Don't turn this into a matter of what Bellatrix would want! I know you indulge her, but this has crossed the line! This is a matter of prestige for the Blacks! If anyone should find out…"

"I see no reason why anyone should. Besides, it was inevitable."

"Inevitable?! Inevitable?! You mean you knew this would happen?! And you did nothing to stop it?"

With a sigh, Cygnus murmured a spell to fix his newspaper. Once it was repaired, he folded it up, tossed it at the nearest House Elf and went over to his wife. He took her hands in his and locked their gazes.

"Druella, I told you once before we married that the Blacks had different ideas of right and wrong to the rest of the world. That there were certain things you were going to have to get used to if you were to be my wife. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, but…"

"This is one of them."

"What?! No! How can you stand there and expect me to…"

"Druella, honestly. You must have known I wasn't a virgin when we married. How do you think I got my experience?"

"Well, I knew, but I assumed…assumed…"

"What, that I'd had a prostitute? How? To have a prostitute would demean the Blacks. We're the purest family in Britain; we can't sully ourselves by consorting with people like that."

"But then, you mean you…"

"With Lyra, yes. And Cassopeia. Normally, the girls would do it with their cousins, since they don't have brothers. But Orion's boys are too young, so it's hardly surprising they've turned to one another."

"Well, I won't stand for it! I won't stand for it, I tell you. You might say that they may do it, but I won't stand for it! My girls are Rosiers, just as much as they are Blacks and the Rosiers would never stand for this."

"Really? Are you sure, Ella? Would Siofra really condemn the girls? Or Elbereth?"

Cgynus's voice was soft now, mocking. Druella tore herself from him and tossed her head proudly, "The Rosiers as a whole would. And if you don't tell them that, forbid them to do it, then I'll walk out of here and never come back. Do you understand me?"

"I'll tell them, but I doubt it will do any good."

"Do you understand me?"

Druella's voice was dangerous. Exhaling slowly, Cgynus released and went to the door, calling for their daughters.

"Bellatrix! Andromeda! Narcissa! Come down here!"

The girls appeared within moments. It was clear they had just come from one bed or another. Their hair was deliciously rumpled and their linen shifts hung so askew they barely covered the relevant parts. Cygnus had to fight back a throb of desire as they curtsied to him.

"You wanted us, Papa?" Andromeda murmured. He nodded.

"Yes, Andromeda. It has come to your mother's attention that you are not…are not behaving exactly as three sisters ought to. She would like you to cease your untoward behaviour forthwith."

"What untoward behaviour, Papa?" Narcissa asked, sapphire eyes wide with feigned innocence. He had to stifle a chuckle at the look of horror on Druella's face as her precious youngest child queried his remark.

"Your sleeping with one another! Your lovemaking! That's what I mean by 'untoward behaviour,' Narcissa!" she choked out at last.

"But you told me I had a duty to prepare my younger sisters for marriage. How am I to do that if I don't teach them how to pleasure their husbands? How to fuck them properly, the way a man would really want?" Bellatrix retorted, defiance clear in every syllable.

Druella turned puce with rage, "You shouldn't even know that yourself, young lady. What you get up after marriage is none of my business, but I won't stand for this kind of cavorting under my roof. From now on, you three will behave three Pureblood daughters _should _behave and your father and I will concentrate on making sure this goes no further, so that you can marry as well as you ought be able to. Is that clear?"

"We could never marry as well as we ought to in this country. We're the best family in England." Bellatrix pointed out. Druella glared at her.

"You'll marry whoever we tell you to marry, madam." Then she turned, addressing all three of her daughters as she continued, "You've got a twisted sense of duty, but I'm going to straighten you out. Straighten you out before it's too late."

With that, she swept from the room.

Bellatrix turned to Cygnus. "You understand, don't you, Papa? You know I have to do what I'm doing, even though Mama doesn't approve. You know I have to teach them what Sirius and Regulus are too young to teach them."

"Of course I understand, Amazona," Cygnus assured her, stroking her wild dark curls soothingly, "I did the exact same thing at your age. It's only natural. If you're a Black, which you three clearly are, then it's only natural. But perhaps you could be slightly more…discreet? At least when your mother's in the house? She's a Rosier, after all, and the Rosiers only really understand what they see as being 'proper' behaviour."

Bella flushed with pleasure as he referred to her as a true Black. She smiled widely in agreement, "Of course we'll be more discreet, Papa. Won't we, Meda? Cissy?"

"Of course," her younger sisters echoed. Cygnus laughed softly.

"All right then. That's settled. Now, back to bed, the lot of you."

Curtsying, the three of them went to the door. Narcissa turned back, however, questions in her wide blue eyes.

"Are you sure it's natural, Papa?" she questioned hesitatingly. Cygnus nodded.

"Of course it is, Cissy," he assured her, "As long as no one other than us Blacks ever knows, it's absolutely fine. After all, we've all done it. I did it, Uncle Orion did it, Aunt Lyra did it and Grandpapa Antares did it before us. So you see, it runs in the family."

Cissy's pale face cleared and she beamed. She threw herself across the room and kissed him, not on the cheek as she did in public, but fully on the lips. She let her lips linger there for a few moments, then jumped down out of his arms.

"Thank you, Papa!" she squealed, dashing after her sisters. Cygnus watched her go, more confused than he cared to admit by the last few moments of their encounter.


End file.
